Change of Heart
by Xenra
Summary: Previously known as The Scientific Method. One minute you hate someone, one minute you love them. What causes such a change of heart? Who knows! Rivalshipping. Don't like, don't read.
1. Images and Responsibility

**Xen:** Welcome back to the story everyone! I know it's taken awhile, but I really think these improvements make the story ten times better! However, it's going to mean that updates will be a little slow. Sorry.

**Ra:** If you're a new reader, I hope you enjoy the story! If you were with us when we published the original, well we're glad to have you back!

**Word Count:** 2,723

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Seto Kaiba was having the worst morning of his life. Well….one of the worst anyways. The morning with the stray crocodile in Fuji was more than a little scary. Talk about waking up to a surprise. But that was beside the point.

First, it was the day Domino High School came back from Christmas break. Laying there in his bed, staring at the ceiling, Seto had had trouble finding the energy to get up and make himself complete the day's tasks. Christmas was the busiest time of the year, as far as his business went, and keeping up with the flood of new orders had exhausted him mentally and physically. With incredible will power, he'd made himself crawl out of the soft confinement of his bed, but even as he got ready he knew the day was going to be long and miserable. The weight on his chest was just too heavy.

To top it all off though, his limo driver had called in sick. Seto was forced to skip breakfast in favor of driving his happy ass to school because he'd spent too long lying in bed. The only other option was to walk, and there was no way in hell that was happening. He had considered just missing school all together, but he'd never missed a day in his life. He figured he'd better not start now. Besides, he had an image to uphold. Strong, hardheaded and cruel hearted CEO. That's who he was supposed to be. And successful business men did not skip class, even if he could feel the onsets of depression.

He'd had his license for a little over a year now, so driving himself was no problem. He had only one car, not because he couldn't buy anymore but because he didn't need any more. The sleek, silver machine was a Lamborghini Reventon, one of only twenty in the world. It could reach 60 mph in only 3.3 seconds, and maxed out its speed at 211 mph.

Kaiba was insanely proud of the car, but today, running his hand over the smooth metal, he found a complete lack of interest. Sighing, he hopped in and revved the engine, something that usually sent shivers up his spine. Nothing. Beautiful. Depression was the bane of his existence, but he could slowly feel it sinking in, like a poisoned darkness. But looking at the day he had ahead of him, he could understand why. He hated school. Not because of the work, but because he was forced to watch the daily interactions of other people. He wanted to just suffer his loneliness the way it should be suffered, alone. Changing his attitude and making new friends wasn't a possibility. He'd started out an asshole, and he couldn't very well change that now. For one, he was too proud. Secondly, there was that whole reputation thing again.

Throwing one arm over the backs of the seats, Seto shifted the car into drive and circled around the large garage before pulling out into the driveway. He'd been dealing with depression and school for two years now. It wasn't going to stop him this time.

Chemistry, which had the potential to be useful and interesting, was his first period. After parking his car as far away from other vehicles as he could manage (he didn't want to risk anyone else hitting it), he made his way there. Due to the uninspiring teaching of one Mrs. Franchester though, Seto usually found that this class was a perfect time to catch up on some sleep.

She was a small, plain woman with straight brown hair and rather lifeless eyes of the same color. He assumed she'd hit that ten year mark when teachers just stop caring anymore. Her lessons were dry and put half the class to sleep, so it would make sense. Coming back after Christmas it seemed she hadn't changed a bit except for the new seasonal sweater she wore, probably a gift from her mother. Certainly wasn't married, so it wasn't from her husband. At her age, with her looks, she probably never would be, Seto figured. But who would want to be? Being married was just an excuse for someone else to spend the money you earned. He'd never believed in that whole 'love' business. The only people you should have close to you are your family.

Resting his chin on the table, the shiny black ones that seemed to be necessary for science classrooms, Seto stared forward blindly. He could feel the depression worsening, like the ticking of a clock, every second the weight on his chest growing heavier. It made it impossible for him to pay attention. All he wanted to do was curl into a ball and never move again.

The only lucky thing that had happened to Seto in the three hours he'd been awake was that he didn't have a chemistry partner. Before Christmas break, new seats had been assigned. He'd been partnered up with a lean looking kid named Ishimaru. The boy's family had up and moved to Osaka over the break though, and now Seto was alone. Thank God. Being paired with anyone was always such a drag. He could do everything by himself ten times as fast than with someone who slowed him down with stupid questions and mistakes. Not to mention he was horrible at trying to socialize. It was a blessing as far as he was concerned.

That was until Yugi Motou showed up. Mrs. Franchester had already attempted to start her speech for the day when he sidled into the room, looking nervous and more than a little embarrassed. She stopped and stared at him with a blank expression as he stepped up to her desk.

Seto watched him from the back of the classroom with menacing blue eyes. Yugi wasn't supposed to be here. The shorter boy handed a slip of paper (_most surely his revised schedule_, Seto thought) to Mrs. Franchester. She looked him over for a few seconds, probably deciding if she should be happy with the new installment into her class. After a second though, she simply handed his schedule back to him and made a half hearted shooing motion towards Seto's table.

A clamoring had already started up in the small room, students taking advantage of the teacher's distraction.

"Quiet down," sighed the small woman. Her words held no conviction at all. "Quiet down," she tried again. Eventually the class fell into a semblance of peace, purely out of respect rather than actually being made to.

Yugi made his way to the back of the room without once looking at Seto. As he slid into the seat next to him though, he turned and flashed Seto a bright smile. A bit strained, but still a smile.

_Always so damn cheerful_, Seto snarled mentally. He simply swung his intense blue gaze back to the front of the room, placed his chin on the desk again and pretended to listen to Mrs. Franchester, who had picked up her lesson again.

Yugi stared at him a moment longer, Seto could see from the corner of his eye. He wasn't smiling anymore but had a rather pained expression on his face. Seto expected him to say something, anything, but the smaller boy simply followed his suit and turned to listen to the teacher.

An hour later, first period ended and Seto had never been so happy to hear that bell in his life. Sitting next to Yugi had probably been the most frustrating, not to mention confusing, thing to happen this morning. Truthfully, losing the duel to him had been a little hard to take, but the more he got to know Yugi, the more envious Seto became of him: of his easy smile, his friends, his general happiness. It had become so bad that the taller man couldn't look at him without becoming almost furious. But being forced into such a normal situation with him was almost…..awkward. I mean, what do you do when you've been partnered with the person you envy most in life for chemistry class? When the two of you have to recite the scientific method together and perform experiments? Seto was definitely going to be making some phone calls that evening. He gave large grants of money to the school. Getting one student's schedule changed should be easy enough. Until then, Seto simply prayed Yugi hadn't been placed into any of his other classes. He entered second period, business management, cautiously. When he saw no sign of the other dueler he relaxed and claimed a desk for himself.

The day continued like this, with him being angry and jumpy wherever he went, expecting to see Yugi in each and every one of his classes. Angry because Yugi just did that to him, even seeing the younger boy sent a ripple of aggravation through him. (A year ago he could had blamed it on the fact that he still couldn't defeat Yugi in a duel, but it wasn't quite the same anymore.) Jumpy because the situation had just been so awkward earlier, that the thought of being forced into a similar one made him insanely nervous. Nobody likes feeling uneasy and embarrassed, not even Seto Kaiba.

Much to his horror, he was faced with another obstacle during lunch. He was sitting quietly, as he usually did, at the edge of the cafeteria. Laptop open and in front of him, he'd been looking over some sales quotas his secretary had sent him when three shadows had fallen over the screen. He looked up quickly, already getting ready to shoo away whoever was disturbing him, and was stunned to see three very pretty girls standing before him. Each was fidgeting and blushing cutely, but Kaiba had seen this before, the surprise easily falling away from his face. Girls seemed to be drawn to him, like bugs to a zapper. He couldn't help but smirk mentally at the metaphor. It was completely accurate. Every girl who ever came up to him was always shot down, no matter what. Not only was he not interested in a relationship, but he'd found out long ago that he was gay. They had no chance.

Quickly, Seto regained control of his features and cast them into a harsh scowl. "What do you want," he snarled at the girls.

The one to the far left, with bright red hair that fell in tiny ringlets around her face, sighed quietly. "Well…" she started, trying to look and sound innocent. "We..we made you some bentos."

"Yeah," the one in the middle piped up. Her long dark hair swayed slightly as she pulled the small box from behind her back, the other two following her example.

Seto stared at them incredulously and all three grew uncomfortable under his cold gaze. Guilt panged slightly somewhere in his chest for putting them down, but he had little choice. The guilt evaporated almost immediately though, as the girl on the right, who was obviously the ring leader, spoke up.

"You're such an asshole," she stated snootily, throwing her bento on the table. "Why are you always turning us down?"

The brunette said nothing.

"Ugh, fine, whatever. We get the picture. Come on girls," she snapped, turning to saunter away. The other two followed, looking mildly disappointed as they clutched at their own bentos. "By the way," the ring leader threw over her shoulder, "people already think you're gay. I wouldn't keep this up if I were you."

Seto watched them walk away, making sure they were at a safe distance before letting out a noisy sigh. Were there really rumors about him being gay? He hoped not. The media was awful, and if they got a hold of something like that they'd never leave him alone. It'd be a nightmare.

It wasn't until he got home that evening, via his shiny sports car again, that Seto remembered Yugi Motou. The boy was like a bad itch. Your forget about it until suddenly, you can't help but scratch it again.

Entering the million dollar living room to his house, Seto flopped down angrily on the expensive leather couch, dropping his book bag on the glass coffee table. A large 60" plasma screen TV hung across the room, but television had just never interested him very much. Instead of fishing for the remote, he propped up his feet and rested his head against the back of the couch, trying to relax a little. He had a couple of meetings in just a half hour with some share holders of KaibaCorp. Going in without a clear head was a bad idea and could very well ruin his reputation. Especially if it was stupid little Yugi who was running through his mind. So he closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, one hand absently pulling at the collar of his uniform. Just think things through and they'll stop bothering you. That was always his theory. There was nothing that couldn't be solved with just a little bit of brain power.

He'd being going to school with the little blonde for a year and a half now (them both being sophomores). He just hadn't had a class with him up until now. The frown on his face deepened. A year and a half for crying out loud. You'd think Seto would have gotten used to the idea of going to class with Yugi. Not to mention his idiotic little friends. He hadn't encountered them up until now because the majority of his classes were advanced. But he'd seen him in the halls. And at lunch. And in the library. Seto grumbled several curse words under his breath. He's been ignoring Yugi all this time! At first it had been that the little brat was the only one who could ever defeat in him in a duel, but as the years wore it had developed into an almost juvenile jealousy. Why did Yugi get friends when he was all alone? How the hell was that boy always so happy when Kaiba was constantly struggled with depression? He knew that it had been his own choice to be elusive and arrogant when he was younger, and now he was reaping what he had sown, but it did nothing to quell his envy. His hand curled into a fist at his side just thinking about it, his grip tightening to the point that his fingertips turned white and the nails dug painfully into his palm. Letting out an exasperated sigh he forced his muscles to loosen. There were only twenty more minutes until the meetings started and he still had to drive to the office.

Sitting up quickly, he pulled out his phone and called up the school. It took him five minutes just to get to someone who could actually fulfill his request. Another two for that person to stutter out that it was impossible to change Yugi Motou's schedule. Another three for that person to be fired and for someone else to tell him the same exact thing.

With a sound that was similar to a roar, Seto flung the phone across the room with as much force as he possibly could. It hit the wall, creating an ear splitting shatter as it broke into a hundred different pieces. He didn't care. He could afford a million more if he wanted them.

They weren't going to change the schedules. Said if they changed one person's they'd have to change hundreds more just to keep the student to teacher ratio even. He had just started to pace angrily around the room, considering his options, when a honk outside alerted him that his limo was ready.

As if it pained him, the prickly teen turned towards the front door and made his way onto the front steps, picking up his brief case from where he'd set it the night before. At the last second he paused at the top of the great staircase. His car waited on the road below. Quickly, and not without more than little resentment, he made a silent promise to himself.

_I will get through these six weeks with Yugi as my partner… _Then, slinging his silver case over one shoulder, he trekked down the stairs and off to work.

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Please comment! We love to hear from you guys. ^^

**-Xen&Ra**


	2. Unwanted Chemistry Projects

A/N; So wow...been a while, huh? Sorry for making you wait so long for new chapters. I can say nothing in my own defense except that I am fickle. Sorry for that. ^^;

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In Kaiba's eyes, the dawn of his second day of school was not much better than the first. He woke up early with plenty of time to cook breakfast for him and his little brother, Mokuba. On any normal circumstance he would make one of the maids do it, but he hadn't been able to spend much time with the younger Kaiba lately. He had even worked Christmas day. Moki was used to it of course, but that didn't do anything to quell his older brother's guilt. So there he was, standing in the kitchen in nothing but his pajamas (which consisted of a pair of boxers) and a frilly white apron. A spatula in hand, he was busy making blueberry pancakes. Though he'd never admit it, he was actually quite the cook. Sure, he had plenty of people who would make him a five course meal at the snap of his fingers, and enough money to eat out the rest of his life, but being as independent as he was he had taken it upon himself to learn to cook from a young age. Now, though he rarely used them, his skills in the kitchen were superb.

He had just thrown away the first couple of pancakes, which he'd learned to do because they collect whatever dirt or grease may still be on the pan, when Mokuba walked in, already dressed for school but still rubbing his eyes. The younger boy took one look at his brother and what he was wearing, shook his head and sighed. "Honestly big bro, do you have to dress so provocatively?"

Seto shot him an icy glare (what twelve year old says stuff like that?) but it was ignored as Moki took a seat at the surprisingly small kitchen table. However, what it lacked in size, it made up for in simplicity and price. The whole thing was made of rich wood and pearly black marble. In fact, the entire kitchen sported the black marble and dark wood theme, down to the counters and the handles on the cupboards.

"So what made you decide to cook today?" Moki asked with a yawn. "Not that I mind, of course," was tacked hastily onto the end.

Seto, who appeared to be furiously staring down the pancake batter, shrugged his shoulders lamely. "We haven't seen each other much lately," he stated without looking up.

Mokuba shifted awkwardly in his seat but didn't respond.

"By the way," now Seto did look up, and pinned his brother with his sapphire gaze. "Did you like the Christmas presents I bought you?" He'd gotten the dark haired boy a brand new Xbox 360 with several games to go with it, all various genres seeing as he wasn't exactly sure which ones Moki would like.

"It isn't much fun to play by myself," the younger Kaiba confessed, dropping his own gaze. "Do we have any orange juice?" he asked, quickly changing the subject. He slid out of his seat at the table and went rummaging through the fridge. Seto knew why he had done it too. Though he hadn't said it out loud, he knew Mokuba meant that he wanted to play his new games with his older brother. But Kaiba didn't really have time for that. And Moki knew it. So he'd switched the subject so as not to make his brother feel any more guilty.

_You know, that boy can be so mature sometimes… He shouldn't have to be._ Seto thought to himself, staring back down at the pancakes.

Behind him, he could hear Moki pouring himself that glass of orange juice (he'd seen the carton in there earlier when he got the blueberries and milk out). He flipped the last pancake onto a still steaming stack, stuck the spatula into the sink, hung the apron back on its hook and set the plate of now complete flap jacks onto the table. Without turning around, as Mokuba was still standing by the fridge, he said "I'm going to go get dressed. Eat, but make sure you're not late for school," and then he headed up to his room on the second floor. By the time he came down again, clothed in his school uniform with hair and teeth freshly brushed, half of the pancakes were gone and so was Mokuba. Seto sighed. He wasn't particularly hungry but he grabbed the top two, which were now cold, and ate them plain. All the while he thought of his younger brother.

What was he going to do? He couldn't just stop working. But Moki needed him. He wouldn't say so, but Seto wasn't blind. He could see how much his younger brother missed him. Without much time until school started though, he shouldered his bag and called his limo driver without coming up with a solution.

It wasn't until he got to school that he remembered Yugi Moto. He spotted the small blonde in the crowded hall of Domino High and was suddenly filled with that angry apprehension; that silent, part curse, part prayer, part hope that Yugi hadn't been put into any more of his classes. But after that first glimpse Seto lost sight of the boy again, and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't find the short teen in his first period English class.

With an A B schedule, he went to certain classes every other day. Today was a B day, so English was first period. But, considering he could already speak conversational English due to company relations in America, he used this time to nap and relax.

Mrs. Melina, the teacher, knowing he could pass any test or exam she threw at him, pretty much let him do whatever he wanted and so didn't say a word. He was often called a teacher's pet because of this, behind his back of course, but he chose to ignore such ludicrous comments. Being a teacher's pet meant you had to suck up to the professor. Obviously that wasn't happening any time soon.

Because of his luck first period, Seto entered second period, Literature, fairly confident. He nearly cussed aloud when he saw Yugi and his little friend….Tea, wasn't that her name? sitting together at the front of the room. They were chatting away and luckily hadn't noticed Seto. He used his chance to sulk angrily to the back of the class. Claiming his seat there, he glared at the back of their heads. If he was really unlucky, he knew he'd also end up in study hall and lunch with them. Since Domino High was such a large school, they had two lunches, despite that the cafeteria nearly took up an entire acre of space. Those who weren't in lunch went to a study hall depending on if they had first lunch or second lunch. If they had first lunch they would go after second period, then have study hall with their third period teacher. If they had second lunch they'd stay with their second period teacher for study hall, then go to lunch, and then to third period.

Seto had second lunch on B days, and all throughout Literature he was praying up and down Yugi and Tea didn't. However, when 10:40 rolled around, Tea got up to leave and Yugi didn't. Seto sunk into his seat with a huff. At least Yugi didn't even know he was here. Mr. Vince, who was the most pompous teacher Seto knew, hadn't bothered to call roll today.

_So unless the pipsqueak turns around, he shouldn't notice me. Good. Then I'll just make myself scarce._

With that thought, the prickly teen quickly bent his head and tried to focus on the homework he'd received yesterday in his Government class. Under normal circumstances he hated when teachers gave homework the first day back to school, but now he was grateful to have something to distract himself with until lunch. It was only thirty minutes, but with nothing to do and Yugi sitting across the room, he might have gone insane.

He was halfway through with the assignment when a shadow fell over his desk.

_Goddamn it. I have the absolute worst luck, ever._

Looking up, he was instantly ensnared in Yugi's amethyst gaze.

_Seriously. Worst. Luck._

"Hey, Seto." The greeting was slightly cautious, as if he was expecting Seto to blow up. Instead, he sat up quickly, fixed Yugi with a frosty glower, and growled "It's Kaiba."

"What?"

"You're not allowed to call me Seto. Address me as Kaiba."

"Oh, um, right. Okay, well, Kaiba, I need to talk to you." Yugi perched himself awkwardly on the edge of Seto's desk, now making them almost equal in height.

The brunette leaned back in his chair, crossing his long arms over his chest. "Alright, spill it." This situation was already making his skin prickle. Not only did he now have classes with the midget, but he also had to talk to him. Seto never wasted his words on someone like Yugi without good reason. And that reason was usually dueling.

"Right," the tri color haired boy dropped his eyes and started fiddling with Seto's pencil. Something the older boy did not appreciate. "You know about the chemistry project, right?"

"What chemistry project?"

Violet eyes snapped up again and Yugi stilled. "We're supposed to do a project for the science fair. Were you not paying attention?"

"It's none of your business what I was doing," was the snapped reply.

Closing his eyes, Yugi gave a bright smile. "That's okay. I wasn't really either. I just barely heard that part."

A raised eyebrow from Seto. "So..chem project. I'm assuming we have to work together based on the way you're not currently invading my personal space?"

Yugi gave a resolute nod. "Yup!"

_Oh, Hell._

Seto resisted the urge to sigh and simply ran a long fingered hand through his hair instead. "Okay, fine, whatever." His deep voice was harsh enough to give the message that working with Yugi was the last thing in the world that he wanted to do.

"Come to my house at five tonight and we can get started." The words were bitter in his mouth. But before he could dwell on this most recent development, he took out a scrap piece of paper and wrote his address down on it. He'd be damned if he was going to that crappy little store Yugi called home. They could either do the project at school or at Seto's house. Non negotiable.(The place was probably all warm and cozy, unlike his own home, ugh) He slid the paper over to the other boy, then resumed his earlier crossed arm position.

Yugi looked absolutely delighted, something that irked the taller boy considerably. He folded the paper up quickly and stuck it in his pocket before looking up and smiling at Seto again. "I'll be there!" he said cheerfully.

Seto just grunted in response. Picking up his pencil, he resumed his earlier work. After a second, Yugi got the idea that he'd been dismissed and left quietly, still looking rather pleased with himself. It was with this same small smile that Yugi approached Seto during lunch twenty minutes later. Seto had already made himself comfortable at a table in the corner of the room. He never ate during lunch; the school food was just horrendous. That wasn't the only reason though, and in fact he could probably make a decent bento if he wanted, but he liked using the thirty minutes of lunch to work on things for his company. Paperwork mostly, but accomplishing something before he even got home always helped him feel like his entire day hadn't been wasted at school. So when Yugi and his pal, the class moron, Joey, stepped up to Seto's table he was more than a little annoyed. They took the two seats opposite him, setting their trays down despite the way he was shooting daggers over the top of his laptop screen. Deciding it would take a little more encouragement, Seto removed his headphones and asked them point blank what in hell they thought they were doing.

Joey, looking pissed, simply averted his gaze.

Yugi, on the other hand, answered brightly with "Coming to sit with you! You looked lonely over here all by yourself."

"Well don't bother. Take your food and leave." With that he replaced his headphones and swung his focus back to the spreadsheet on his screen. Five minutes later however, when he peeked back around the slim computer, there they sat, chatting it up happily. Sapphire eyes narrowed menacingly. They weren't going to leave him alone? Fine. He picked up his laptop abruptly and moved to the only other empty table in the room, purposefully sitting with his back to the two. Seto could feel their stares, could tell they'd gone silent, but he didn't particularly care. When they didn't follow he gave a small smirk before finally getting back to work.

The next two periods went by quickly without Seto seeing Yugi or any of his stupid little friends. In fact, by the time he climbed into his sleek black limo, the billionaire had all but forgotten about the pointy haired boy and the plans Seto had made with him. His mind was already calculating costs, thinking up new contracts, new sales projects. He'd received a phone call right after lunch about a new deal the Italians wanted to strike with him. He wouldn't even have time to stop by the house, and instead directed the driver to take him straight to the office.

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I'll try and remember to post the next chapter as soon as possible since its already written but no promises.

~Xen


	3. By the Light of my Laptop

A/N: Welp. I really _should _be working on my HxH fic but here I am again. ^^; Oh well, at least I'm making someone happy, right?

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As soon as Seto Kaiba set foot out of his limo, he knew something was wrong. It was already nine o'clock, the usual time Mokuba went to bed. Yet Seto could clearly see light shining through the glass of his front door. His younger brother always went to bed on time, and if he had just forgotten to turn the lights off, the maids would have taken care of it. Which meant there was someone in his living room. Someone who was not supposed to be there.

Moving quickly up the stone stairs, he flung open the slightly opaque front door, throwing caution to the wind. If someone was in his house, someone he was not related to or did not work for him, by God Seto wanted to know, robber or not. And if it was a thief, well they picked the wrong house to target. The CEO could have attack dogs on the man or woman in a simple matter of seconds. However, the sight that greeted his eyes was not what he expected.

There, with his sock clad feet stretched out on Seto's glass coffee table (the one that cost a little over ten thousand dollars due to the infamy of the designer), was Yugi Moto. A controller in hand, he reclined on the leather sofa, eyes intent on the 60" flat screen, tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. And next to him, with bleary eyes and the same concentrated expression, was Mokuba, also holding a controller and with eyes fixed on the video game they were playing.

Kaiba's temper instantly flared. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?" His roar caused both parties to jump. Two pairs of guilty eyes met his.

Mokuba quickly paused the game and slowly stood, Yugi following suit. "Uh, welcome home, brother!"

"Don't 'welcome home' me," Seto growled. "What are you still doing awake? It's nine already, and you know you have school tomorrow."

The young boy instantly whirled to stare at the silver clock suspended on the wall, his jaw working slightly though no sound came out. Finally, turning back to his brother, he managed to stutter, "I-I lost track of time. Sorry."

Seto shook his head. "Just go to bed." His voice softened, if only slightly.

Mokuba nodded quickly, giving a slight half smile before taking off up the stairs at the back of the room. "Night Yugi! Night Seto!" he called down, pausing at the second floor landing. Then he disappeared from view and the two were alone.

"And you," Seto's voice hardened once more as his gaze swung harshly to Yugi. "What in hell are you doing in my house?"

The blonde, who was biting his lip, fidgeted slightly, wringing his hands. "You, um, invited me, remember?" Though Yugi's eyes were downcast, his voice didn't waver and after a moment of obvious mental pep talk, his amethyst eyes rose to meet Seto's.

The CEO found himself grounded by this simple movement. Yugi's eyes, soft and warm held him captive for several seconds before he shook himself from their grasp.

"Did I?" he asked. It wasn't a yell, but it certainly wasn't friendly.

Seeming to think this quieter tone meant Seto was no longer angry, Yugi smiled brightly. "Yeah, you did," he chirped. "For the chemistry project."

Seto let out a ragged sigh, suddenly feeling more than a little embarrassed. He _had_ invited the little pipsqueak to his house. Then he had completely forgotten and arrived four hours late to their meeting. This was extremely uncharacteristic. Seto never forgot anything. His business depended on it. He couldn't keep up with a planner to save his life, so he relied on his natural born talent for remembering his schedule as well as other important information. Yugi wasn't necessarily important though...nor was he affiliated with Seto's job in any way.

_That must be it, _he thought with a sigh. _He's just so insignificant that I didn't deem this little meeting important enough to remember._

"Alright, yeah, chemistry project. Is there a due date on this thing?"

Yugi rocked back and forth on his toes, linking his fingers together behind his back. "Sort of. We have to have a report on what we're going to do by this Friday. The actual project isn't due until the day of the science fair though, which is two weeks from today."

Looking up at the ceiling, Kaiba mentally checked his schedule. He wasn't free for something like this again until Saturday, which meant they'd have to figure out what they were going to do and write a report on it that night. He said so much to the smaller boy.

Taking it completely in stride, the little teen nodded and gave a bright smile. "Then we better get started!"

"Come on, we can work in my study." Walking briskly, and not bothering to check if his partner followed, Seto took the stairs two at a time. He followed a long hallway with rich red carpet on the second floor until he came to an ornate pair of wooden doors. Without pause, he threw them open and stepped into his study, which was actually an enormous library, complete with reading tables. Seto rarely came in here, he didn't have a lot of time for reading, but the place was spotless and practically shinning. Not even a single book was out of place all thanks to his maids.

He stepped forward to one of the small tables, pulling open a drawer from the side. Inside lay a stack of lined paper. Grabbing a couple pieces, he opened another drawer filled to the brim with various pens and pencils. He selected two of the sharper pencils before shutting both drawers again.

"Alright, we can write a rough draft on these," he stated, placing both pencils and paper on the table top. "Than we can type the final draft on my laptop." Seto turned on his heel to face the younger boy who had wandered into the large room after him, a look of awe on his face. "But before we can do that," he said rather loudly, drawing Yugi's attention back to him, "we have to decide exactly what it is we want to do for our project."

The smaller boy, still looking around the study, seemed to deliberate for a moment before saying, "We could always do a paper mache volcano. Those are really fun. You know, the ones with baking soda and vinegar?"

Paper. Mache. Volcano. That was the best this kid could come up with? A fucking paper mache volcano!? Seto wanted to hit his head against a wall. Repeatedly. At least until he could no longer see or hear the damn midget. Honestly, a volcano? What was he, five?

Running a hand over his face and taking a calming breath, Seto said, "Yugi, for one, this is a chemistry project, not preschool science class. Two, everyone and their brother takes those damn volcanoes to the science fair. If you want to actually win, you need to think of something creative and unique. I know it's difficult. You've never used that thing in your head called a brain, but just try for make sake."

"Oh, right, um, sorry."

"Don't apologize. Just think of something else," Seto snapped.

Yugi was silent for several minutes, appearing to think. Finally, he started, "Well, I did hear about this one experiment...it's where you build your own electrochemical cell. It sounded pretty cool."

"Alright, let's see what we can do with that."

An hour later, the report was almost finished. Seto had stepped out for a moment to check on Mokuba, whose room was just down the hall. Yugi had stayed behind to put the finishing touches on their paper.

Truthfully, the experiment was a simple one. An electrochemical cell was just a battery. It just involved mixing chemicals and playing with the amounts until the cell would actually supply enough power to light a light bulb. Seto could do something like this in his sleep, but the little nerd had been amazed by the idea. Rather than look for something more complicated (and therefore more on his level) the CEO had rolled his eyes and agreed to it. Honestly he didn't feel up to all of this arguing and throwing temper tantrums.

Seto paused outside the door to Mokuba's room. Pushing it open just slightly, he didn't want to light from the hall to wake his younger brother, he peered in. The room was messy with clothes, games, and school work strewn randomly about. It irked Seto, but the room was purely Moki's. He had no right to dictate how it was kept, and so it almost always looked like a hurricane had swept through it.

Across the space, a small form rose and fell evenly on the bed. Seto watched it for a moment, feeling oddly compassionate towards his brother. He quickly turned and shut the door behind him though. He'd made sure the boy was asleep, so there was no reason to wake the younger Kaiba, even if Seto was feeling the need to tuck him in.

Moving silently, Seto returned to his study. He swung open the doors...and froze. He'd only been gone a couple of minutes, but there was Yugi, asleep with his head on the desk. One arm was underneath his head, and the other was still positioned for scribbling notes, a pencil in his loose grip. He had one foot tucked under his leg and the other hung limply, several inches from the floor.

Seto's laptop had been pushed to the other side of the table but was still on. Word glowed coldly from the screen, illuminating Yugi's pale features with a blue tint like ice.

Something about this picture, very simply, prevented Seto from taking another step. How had he never noticed that pale, smooth skin, so perfect it could be porcelain? Or the long, thick lashes that framed Yugi's eyes? With the light from the computer, they cast soft shadows down his cheeks. They looked like dark smudges, the way mascara will blur when one crys.

And how had he not noticed the delicacy of the younger boy's frame? Surprisingly curvy and feminine; petite enough that the boy really could be nothing more than a beautiful doll. It was like Seto's eyes were being opened for the very first time. So many things he'd never noticed about this normally troublesome person stood out in vivid detail, all vying to grab his attention each one more eye catching and astonishing than the last; hair, eyes, lips, body, and everything in between.

The older boy thought he actually felt his heart skip a beat, for whatever reason, and it took several seconds before he was able to breathe properly again. A strange expression had settled over his face, one of amazement, confusion and, most importantly, a subtle sort of adoration. For a brief second the heavy weight of depression on his chest lifted.

The quiet shuffle of sleepy footsteps caused Seto to whirl around, the world crashing down around his ears. Mokuba, who was dressed in his one size too big pajamas, had just entered the study. Raven colored hair askew, he took one look at his brother and paused. Seto quickly erased the expression from his face, but it was too late. Mokuba peered around the CEO curiously. When he caught sight of Yugi at the table asleep, a small, knowing smile found its way to his lips.

Before he could say anything though, Kaiba drew the younger boy's attention away. "What are you doing up?" he asked.

"Oh, I heard you in my room and I thought you needed something." Despite Seto's attempt, and though Mokuba said nothing about the situation, his smug look stayed in place.

"No," the brunette snapped. "I was just making sure you were actually asleep. Now go back to bed."

Mokuba's smile grew. "But what about Yugi? He can't just sleep in here."

"I'll get a maid to take him to a spare room," Seto growled. "Now get back to bed!"

The younger Kaiba laughed quietly, noting the faint blush on his brother's cheeks. "Okay, okay. I'm going."

* * *

A little bit of fan service there? I hope you liked it!

~Xen


End file.
